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1st Day In The Regiment

In response to Dave F's appeal for more participation, here's a subject that EVERY member of the Forum can relate to, and offer their own story !

I did do this on the old Forum, with limited success, maybe an even better response this time ?

My First Day With 3DG ;

I arrived direct from the Para Sqn having been told I couldn't stay there because the Carabiniers were under strength & all ex Boy Soldiers who hadn't completed 3 years at RD had to RTU ( never did find out if all that was true !)

Anyway, I turned up at Athlone Bks, Detmold, on the day before Good Friday, getting off the Army bus from Gutersloh, to find the Regiment had knocked off for Easter at lunchtime. Cpl Frank Kelly showed me to the top floor of "A" Sqn, me carrying kit bag, Army suitcase & Sea Kitbag (no help from Frank !).

After pointing to a door,("That's your barrack room"), he disappeared. On opening the door, a massive cloud of cigarette smoke hit me, & peering through the gloom I saw a gang of lads, surrounded by "stubbies" & beer cans, all with fags dangling out of their mouths, and playing cards.

To say I was shocked was an understatement - I'd come from places of "gleam 'n' clean" (JLR & Tidworth) to what seemed like a den of iniquity, a real "house of horrors" - I didn't even smoke !!

I went & found somewhere else to doss down for the weekend, after which things improved somewhat, especially when I found the Sqn Bars !

Anyway, that's my first day, tell us about yours, because we ALL had a FIRST DAY with 3DG .

1st Day In The Regiment

February 4, 2016

Aliwal Bks Tidworth, 1960: Arrived via British Rail, from Trg Regt in Catterick to local stn, picked up by duty driver, and dropped off on the square behind RHQ block. somebody shouted "Hey you" I looked round, and saw a Tpr climb out of said lorry, who pointed to my kit, said "pick it up and follow me" Did so, into RHQ, where I was told "A Block, 2 Troop, MOVE" I did asap, found the block, even the right Tp room, and dropped all my gear. 2 troopers said I should get my bedding, drop it off in my new kit locker, then meet them in the NAAFI. Sounded good to me, so I did as told. Things got a bit hazy after that, but I seemed to have survived, though with less in my pocket than before I met them!! But they were great lads, and we got on famously thereafter.

1st Day In The Regiment

February 6, 2016

Where do you start about that day ,so let's see we had the 62/63 coldest snowiest winter in Catterick camp history bbbrrrrr,then the RASC who managed troop movements at the time we're going to send us northern troops via Luton airport to Germany ,then they changed their minds and sent us via Ringway (Manchester old name) .Got to Gutersloh,put on a green bus older than me ,bounced all the way to Detmold ,then some guy with the worst English I had heard in my 17 years with sergeants stripes(Joe D) shouted at me pointing to HQ Sqn block .No I was not alone there were some real soldiers ,OK they done service at Bovvy ,including one of best mates Ken Hannah ,Moggsey Morrisy also us Catterick nigs included Big Pete Clark as nco ,sadly Pete is no longer with us RIP........and then as you know HQ Sqn put you in the attic till the next day .They informed us we could visit the town but only in uniform (BD) and had to sign out at guardroom and be back by 10pm(2200) or face death by firing squad ,OK I lied only one of would be shot the rest would have to dig the grave.....except for Pete we were all 17 or 18 never been out the UK and we followed some guys instruction that the best place for a beer was "Mammas" trapes down the hill into Detmold after a few directions got there.All this fresh meat was too much for Mamma ,so we all got the tit on shoulder treatment and kiss ,nice young boys (help).Time came to return and sign in and off to bed ,did I tell you the attic had all the beds side by side ,giggly merry guys climbing over each other to get to bed/sleep (chaotic).......with soare heads attending RHQ office the Hon gave us all a pep talk and doled us out to squadrons ,Pete and myself C ,Ken and Geof B ......can't remember much else as this happened May 8th 1963 (VE day ) ...Coming to think about squadrons I served in A, C ,D,HQ not a day in B ,lucky wasn't I ( and I always thought it was Kluter Kazerne not Athlone )

1st Day In The Regiment

February 6, 2016

Yes Bob, you got the barracks German name spot on.... AND you did not get lost on the way back from Mamma's, clever lad... Do you remember the man with his Chicken and Chips wagon opposite the main gate?? We had his meals every trip back from all those boozy bars in the town. Happy days!!

1st Day In The Regiment

February 7, 2016

Tom there was also Fritzi who used to our laundry,and him being of WW2 age group I can remember we used to quiz him on his service for the "fatherland " ,in fact in all my 19 years service in West Germany nobody fought the yanks or Brits ,must have been the Austrians

1st Day In The Regiment

February 7, 2016

Bob. and then there was the WRVS lady who Roy Mills tried to take under his arm, to stop the troops trying- he even tried to entice her into a Cent once,,,,,, It was the only time I ever saw him NEAR a Cent, never mind in one...and I have a photo to prove it!!! As for the enemy in WW2, they were troglodites from the centre of the earth, surely.
Our main enemy in camp were the tank park rats, they were the size of polo ponies... I never saw any Orderly Officer even near A Sqn tank park area during all the time I was on guard, day or night. It scared me there whenever I heard a scuffle among the rags and u/s bits!! I always did wonder what happened to the unwary there in the dark...

1st Day In The Regiment

February 17, 2016

I remember my first days in the regiment. I came over on the Blue train from the Hook of Holland having been posted from the Boys Sqn RAC on the 24 Jan 1955. In camp everywhere was covered in snow, I was taken up-to Csqn. I was put very quickly on Guard. On the parade the orderly officer screamed that "I was like a bag of shit tied up in the middle". He said get him of this square and stick him on a charge. I was rushed off the square but I was not charged and managed to evade my first duty.
I remember at Detmold we had Bhanna posted to RHQ and on his first evening he got very drunk and nutted the ground floor swing doors. He split his head open and as a result he was rushed to the Med center where he had a bad cut between his eyes stitched. He was on guard a little later(I was guard Cpl) Knocker Notley was orderly officer and when he saw Bohann with some cotton hanging below his beret, (which were the stitches) he pulled very hard and told him of for being improperly dressed. Old Bohanna nearly fainted.I put Knocker wise about the situation and he apologized profusely and offered to let Bhanna off guard. Bohann bravely said "no I will do my duty".

1st Day In The Regiment

February 27, 2016

First/second day in the regiment at Detmold, got off the back of a Bedford RL, by the guardroom, and immediately ran into Joe Duda. who do you think you are turning up here just before guard parade. Cpl Lewis Sgt said I not knowing how things were done being a nig. Doubled me over to HQ Squadron screaming ,no food cookhouse is shut. I managed to get myself bedded down for the night. Next morning outside the RSMS office another humungous bollocking for not removing the draft Cpl stripes, Christ I didn't know whether I was coming or going, everything was a blur, you are going in to see the C.O. just listen to my commands , lit rite lit rite at the double march. came up towards the C.O.s desk, no mark time just another screamed halt. now I don't know whether they did this to all nigs on arrival, but can you remember those shoes with the leather soles that you got issued with slippy to say the least well my halt ended up with me on my back under his desk, he just looked at me and said to the dog that was there, what do you think. Irony wasn't the word and of course the RSM screaming sound turned into a strangled laughter of sorts, terrific opening in the Regiment, send him down to shiny "C" to a friendlier crowd, SSM Danny Huxley ,Rip Jenkins, Ronnie Maddocks, Billy Wilson, Ian Salisbury, all spring to mind, I can laugh about it now, wasn't funny then.
keep smiling
Bob

1st Day In The Regiment

February 27, 2016

Bob, What I remember from those days was the CO's initial interview in Tidworth, as I arrived after all the occifers retired to their swanky Mess, so my interview was next morning . I did not do much wrong in the interview, but I swiftly developed an intense dislike of all the creepy little dogs inspecting me in the COs office, trying to take a lump of my flesh, and after that I decided that "short-Rsd little mongrels" were my pet hate for my entire service career... nipping and even peeing over everything, but I never kicked one, at least not when the owner was around....